Tungsten Carbide (WC) Nanoparticles

Tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles are amongst the important metal carbide materials. There is two different crystal structures of WC; hexagonal and high-temperature cubic structure. However, the cubic structure of WC is much less observed since the cubic structure is stable in a much smaller temperature range. WC nanoparticles provide desirable catalytic properties, acid-resistance, high elastic modulus, and wear resistance. The melting point of WC nanoparticles is 2870°C while the boiling point is 6000°C. The hardness of WC nanoparticles is ranked 9-9.5 in the Mohs scale and the Young’s modulus is approximately 530-700 GPa. Particularly, the catalytic activities of WC nanoparticles have attracted attention due to their catalytic behavior similar to platinum-based materials. Moreover, contrary to Pt-based catalysts, WC nanoparticles are abundant, low-cost, and immune to CO deactivation. WC nanoparticles are used as;

• Catalysts for selective deoxygenation, electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, biomass conversion, and water splitting,
• Catalyst support,
• High strength cutting tools,
• Mining tolls,
• Jewelry,
• Surface coatings.